Vice Is Going After An Unsigned Indie Band For Using A Similar Name

An indie rock band in Los Angeles has gotten the attention of Vice Media, but not good attention. The music group is called ViceVersa and applied to trademark that name. Vice found out and has sent them a cease-and-desist letter alleging trademark infringement.

In the cease-and-desist letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, Vice accuses ViceVersa of “unauthorized use of Vice Media’s intellectual property” and trying to associate itself with the Vice brand for financial gain “to the great detriment of Vice Media.”

So this is what Vice Media wants ViceVersa to do:

The letter goes on to make a series of demands: The band must immediately halt usage of the name “ViceVersa”; take down its website and social media pages; and stop the sale of band merchandise bearing the ViceVersa name. The letter also says the band must produce documentation of revenue earned since it formed in 2012.

Vice has threatened other action, including seeking monetary damages, if ViceVersa doesn’t comply.

The band itself says that they have never claimed that they were associated with Vice in any way. They also responded by saying that making the changes Vice demands “could potentially set the band back thousands of dollars and gravely harm their growing fan base and social media presence.”

To put this in perspective, Vice is valued at $2.5 billion, while ViceVersa’s guitarist says that the band struggles to pay their monthly rent.